Artist{40 s palette

ABSTRACT

An artist&#39;&#39;s palette having a paint tube rack movably mounted thereon for depositing selected colors of paint in a predetermined position on the palette. The plurality of paint tubes are threadably attached to the rack so as to be individually connected to extension members which are tiltably mounted on the rack. The extension members are normally held against a sealer which is fixedly mounted on the rack. When paint is to be dispensed from the tube, the applicable extension member may be tilted about a pivot point so that the end of the extension is placed in close proximity with the palette; the tube is then squeezed for extrusion of paint.

United States Patent Hutchison 51 Mar. 21, 1972 [54] ARTIST'S PALETTE [72] Inventor: Richard C. Hutchison, 10418 Inglewood Avenue, Inglewood, Calif; 90304 [22] Filed:. Jan. 19, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 3,751

[52] U.S. Cl ..206/l.8, 211/81 [51] Int. Cl 1 .3444! 3/02 [58] Field ofSearch ..206/1.7, 1.8; 35/285;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,878,590 3/1959 Dodge ..206/1.8 X 1,626,771 5/1927 Wolf ..206/l.8 X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Great Britain .248/ l08 Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner--Stephen P. Garbe Attorney-Smyth, Roston & Pavitt [57] ABSTRACT An artists palette having a paint tube rack movably mounted thereon for depositing selected colors of paint in a predetermined position on the palette. The plurality of paint tubes are threadably attached to the rack so as to be individually connected to extension members which are tiltably mounted on the rack. The extension members are normally held against a sealer which is fixedly mounted on the rack. When paint is to be dispensed from the tube, the applicable extension member may be tilted about a pivot point so that the end of the extension is placed in close proximity with the palette; the tube is then squeezed for extrusion of paint.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented Mm 21, 1.972 3,650,380

% @544 Max ARTIST'S PALETTE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In some types of painting, an artist uses a palette upon which he places various colors of paints which he may mix to produce various shades and hues; he then applies the paint to his canvas. With presently available equipment, the artist must store individual tubes of paint in a box, on a table, etc. When the artist desires to use a certain color of paint, he must find the tube containing that color paint, open it, squeeze paint from the tube onto the palette, replace the cap on the tube, and return it to its storage position. This plurality of actions often causes the artist to be distracted from concentration upon the object being painted and, in a scene in which the light is quickly changing, to fail to capture the precise result which he desires. Also, it is very easy for the artist to misplace individual tubes and become totally distracted in a search for a certain desired color.

If the artist should fail to properly replace the cap on the tube, the paint will dry out and clog the neck of the tube when its further use is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an artists palette to which a movable rack is removably affixed. Individual tubes of paint may be threadably attached to the rack in a plurality of positions thereon. Each tube receiving position is formed integral with an extension member which is held against a sealing means by the weight of the tube and the particular structure of the rack. When it is desired to extrude paint from a tube, the rack is moved about the palette until the tube is positioned radially outwardly from the position in which the paint is to be deposited. The tube is then pushed upwardly, causing the tube receiving portion of the rack to be tilted about a pivot point so that the extension member is lowered to a position adjacent the palette surface. The tube is then squeezed until the desired quantity of paint is placed on the palette. When the tube is released, the receiving position structure tilts back to its normal position in which the extension member is sealed. The rack may then be moved about the palette until another color of paint is positioned in a similar manner, or until an open section of the rack is positioned opposite the paint so that the artist can begin to work the paint without obstruction from the rack.

With this equipment, the artist can easily and quickly obtain any desired color of paint with a minimum of distraction and without being required to replace the cap on each individual tube after each use. Since the tube extension member is normally maintained against a sealer, the paint in the tube neck and the extension member will be sealed from the air and thereby prevented from becoming dried out. Additionally, the invention reduces the amount of equipment which the artist must carry with him to the scene which he intends to paint since the requirement for a box or table for storage of the tubes is obviated. If 'the palette is mounted on a tripod-type support stand, a cup may be positioned below an aperture in the center of the palette so that brushes and palette knives may be conveniently stored when not in use.

Other objects, advantages, modes, and embodiments of the invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art through reference to the detailed description and accompanying drawing which illustrate what is presently considered to be a preferred embodiment of the best mode contemplated for utilizing the novel principles set forth in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the palette partially shown in phantom so as to clearly illustrate the structure of the paint tube receiving rack;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 comprises a sectional view of the palette and an end view of the rack, as seen along a line III-III of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION from the upper section thereof adjacent the palette to the,

lower section thereof distal from the palette.

A paint tube receiving rack 21 extending about a large portion of the palette is removably fastened to the palette by a C-' shaped section 23 having an internal lip 25 which cooperates with the surface 19 on the palette lip 17 to hold the rack to the palette. Proper selection of the materials will allow the C- shaped section 23 to be flexible enough so that lip 25 can be removed from the angular surface 19 when desired. This feature will allow the rack to be removed, for example, when the surface of the palette is to be cleaned.

A plurality of individual tube receiving members 27.are fixed to the C-shaped section 23 by individual hinge sections 29 which allow the tube receivers to be tilted so that the tubes 37 can be moved from the position A to the position B ,as shown in FIG. 3. Although any suitable materials may be used, the hinge section 29 may be formed from well-known hinges or the entire rack structure may be formed from any wellknown flexible plastic.

An extension tube 31 is formed integral with or attached to each receiver 27 and is provided with an axial bore 33 which communicates with a threaded opening 35 in the receiver 27. The opening 35 is so formed that it can receive and hold a tube of paint 37 which can be threaded into the opening. Each extension tube 31 is provided with an end surface 39 which is so angled, relative to the axis of the tube, that it closely fits against a sealer ring 41 which is attached to the C-shaped section 23 by a plurality of arms 43 at various positions on the rack.

In operation, the artist places his hand on the tube of paint 37 from which he desires to extract paint and pulls or pushes on it so as to cause the rack to rotate until the tube is positioned radially outwardly from the point upon which paint is to be placed onto the palette surface. The operator then presses upwardly on the tube, tilting it from the position A to the position B shown in FIG. 3, causing the receiver 27 and extension tube 31 to also be tilted about the hinge portion 29. The paint tube is then squeezed and the desired quantity of paint is extruded therefrom through the extension and onto the surface of the palette. When the artist releases the paint tube 37, the weight of the tube and, with proper selection of materials, the inherent spring action in the hinge section 29 automatically returns the apparatus from the position B to the position A. This operation can be repeated as often as desired until the required colors and quantities of paint have been deposited on the palette. The entire rack can then be moved so that the extruded paint is positioned between the ends of the rack, allowing the artist to work the paint on the palette without obstruction from the rack or tubes of paint.

Thus, the applicant has provided one embodiment of a new and improved concept in the art of painting equipment which yields a true advance in that art. Many modifications and alterations of the described embodiment, within the scope of the invention, will be obvious to those skilled in the art, wherefore What is claimed as the invention is:

I. An artists tool comprising a palette member having a paint receiving surface,

a paint tube receiving rack movably mounted on the periphery of said palette member,

means for fastening at least one tube of paint to said rack,

and

releasable means fixing said rack to said palette member.

2. An artists tool of comprising a palette member having a paint receiving surface,

a paint tube receiving rack movably mounted on the periphery of said palette member,

means for fastening at least one tube of paint to said rack,

and

extension tube means mounted on said rack and in communication with said means for fastening said at least one tube of paint to said rack for passage of paint from the tube of paint through said extension tube.

3. The artists tool of claim 2 including means on said rack for tilting said at least one tube of paint fastening means and said extension tube about a pivot point to position an end of said extension tube adjacent said palette surface.

4. The artists tool of claim 2 including an open end of said extension tube distal from said fastening means and means for sealing said distal open end to prevent drying of paint in said extension tube.

5. An artist's tool comprising a palette member,

a paint tube receiving rack comprising means for fastening said rack to said palette member for sliding movement relative thereto,

a plurality of individual means for receiving a like plurality of tubes of paint, and

a like plurality of integral hinge means formed as a portion of each receiving means and of said fastening means whereby said receiving means may be individually pivoted toward and away from said palette member.

6. The tool of claim 5 including means mounted on said paint tube receiving rack for limiting the pivotal movement of each of said plurality of receiving means away from said palette member.

t I i i l 

2. An artist''s tool of comprising a palette member having a paint receiving surface, a paint tube receiving rack movably mounted on the periphery of said palette member, means for fastening at least one tube of paint to said rack, and extension tube means mounted on said rack and in communication with said means for fastening said at least one tube of paint to said rack for passage of paint from the tube of paint through said extension tube.
 3. The artist''s tool of claim 2 including means on said rack for tilting said at least one tube of paint fastening means and said extension tube about a pivot point to position an end of said extension tube adjacent said palette surface.
 4. The artist''s tool of claim 2 including an open end of said extension tube distal from said fastening means and means for sealing said distal open end to prevent drying of paint in said extension tube.
 5. An artist''s tool comprising a palette member, a paint tube receiving rack comprising means for fastening said rack to said palette member for sliding movement relative thereto, a plurality of individual means for receiving a like plurality of tubes of paint, and a like plurality of integral hinge means formed as a portion of each receiving means and of said fastening means whereby said receiving means may be individually pivoted toward and away from said palette member.
 6. The tool of claim 5 including means mounted on said paint tube receiving rack for limiting the pivotal movement of each of said plurality of receiving means away from said palette member. 